The White House signaled it was backing off its demand for $5 billion to pay for a border wall, while rocky negotiations on Capitol Hill prompted Senate GOP leaders to start drafting a short-term spending deal to avoid a shutdown.506

The Senate passed a landmark bill changing sentencing guidelines for federal prisoners—and allowing early release for potentially tens of thousands of inmates who were convicted of nonviolent crimes.57

After two stints in Chinese prisons for helping North Koreans flee, Tu Airong is awaiting a final decision from South Korea on his application for asylum. If he is successful, human-rights workers say it would be the first time Seoul has granted asylum to a person who helped North Koreans reach the South.

Global smartphone sales are flattening, which is why Apple and others are looking to India and its millions of newly minted consumers for growth. Yet the tech giant’s market share is falling, revenue is coming in well below expectations and its top leadership ranks are in turmoil.220

A federal judge softened his previous suggestion that he would likely issue a court order requiring CVS Health to halt its integration of newly acquired insurer Aetna, citing CVS’s pledges to keep certain aspects of Aetna’s operations separate for now.

SoftBank’s Japanese mobile-phone unit, which launched one of the biggest public share offerings in recent years, made a disappointing debut as investors worried about a price war and the company’s reliance on Chinese supplier Huawei Technologies.

Italy’s finance ministry said it has agreed on a compromise with European Union authorities over the country’s budget deficit, resolving a dispute between Rome’s populist government and EU fiscal enforcers that has vexed financial markets for months.

Heavy fighting between Yemen’s government and Houthi rebels has subsided, suggesting the two sides are adhering to a deal struck as part of a U.S.-backed diplomatic push to end the nearly four-year war.

An American woman who died while in Syrian government custody is believed by aid groups and activists to have been executed, spurring concern for other U.S. citizens who may be detained by the regime.62

State Sen. Kevin Parker apologized to Republican spokeswoman Candice Giove for the social-media post after she called him out on the improper use of a parking placard but also said she is “a Twitter troll.”72

Republican Bruce Poliquin filed an appeal seeking to invalidate the election of his Democratic opponent under Maine’s new voting ranked-choice system, urging the court to act before new U.S. House members are sworn in.